For the Thomas’: Why I Keep Coming Back for More
By
Tyler Shah
For me, I keep reading science fiction
short stories because it keeps changing things up, but has those classic
elements that make the stories recognizable.
Throughout this class, I’ve been introduced to many writing styles and
stories, and at points it was overwhelming between trying to understand the
message the author is sending and trying to keep my mind from overthinking the
given world. That being said, I believe
the only thing that is completely different between good science fiction short
stories is the given world. Since the
author wrote a short story, it’s in its name to not be long, thus there will
not be a lot of explaining of the world.
Then, the biggest change between them is the characters and the overall
plot. Each character in the stories we
read was an individual, and had different characteristics from those in the
same story, and those in others, but there are several of the same traits in
those characters that make them similar such as a hero, a villain, and the
helper. Although, in some cases, the
villain is not a being, such as in The
Cold Equations where we see the villain as the unforgiving vacuum of space,
it is still present since a great story needs an event that changes things up
for the characters. Furthermore, the
plot is different overall, but there are some similar traits of each
plot—especially for science fiction.
Each story’s plot will be different from the other, or else it would be
the same story, and they have different things happening in different times,
but there is always one thing that stays constant—an event that changes the
characters. Since science fiction has
many sub-genres, there are many different ways this can occur, but,
specifically, it happens mostly in the sub-genre of robots. There are many different stories about robots
and there are many different characters, plots, and endings for them all, but
there is one thing that is common for many—the robot defies what one, some, or
all of the characters want it to do. The
event then sets out plot in stone and we follow this until it ends in our
favorite character’s success or demise.
After going through the amazing
rollercoaster that is this class, I am very happy to say that I love science
fiction short stories, and I am proud to be a brave geekling! Science fiction stories have an amazing
allure to them that ropes me in and keeps me reading until the end, mostly
because it allows an escape from my reality and allows me to be around
something that I enjoy—science! Whether
it is soft or hard science fiction, it allows for a different world to appear,
and though it may be similar to mine, the difference I feel is immense. In a world full of negativity and the call
for maturity beyond our years, I’m happy to find extreme happiness in my day
when I sit down and pull up an interesting story that transports me to that
world, something that is needed every once in a while.
Tyler,
ReplyDeleteWhen you say that the common denominator in short sff is that there's an event that changes the character or their situation, you're actually hitting on something fundamental in ALL fiction. One way of defining a story might be "the moment after which nothing will be the same." If that's the case, then it's really HOW sff explores this "moment after" or "moment of" alteration that allows it be what it is, more than just the existence of that moment, right? I'm interested in those other "constants" you allude to in your essay and the way these can influence how short sff does what it does so distinctively.
Best,
TT